MAYORS CONFERENCE COST LESS THAN EXPECTED

Salt Lake City officials say it didn't cost them as much as they thought it would to impress 170 of the nation's mayors who attended the first U.S. Conference of Mayors in Salt Lake City last month.

The city has more than $31,000 left over from the $145,800 it raised in private donations and didn't even touch the $40,000 in public money city officials set aside in case the tab went higher than that.The $40,000 set aside in last year's budget for emergencies during the conference June 10-15 was returned to the general fund June 30, said Emilie Charles, executive assistant to Mayor Palmer DePaulis.

A preliminary analyis of the conference budget shows that the city raised $145,800 in donations from local businesses - plus the city's $40,000 - but spent only $115,693, Charles said, stressing the figures were still tentative because some transactions haven't been completed.

Right now, the city doesn't know what to do with the left over $31,207 because the money was privately donated, Charles said.

The city expected to spend $179,260 on the conference, based on expectations that 1,000 mayors and their guests would attend. But only 700 actually arrived for the conference, Charles said.

"We showcased the city, and I'm very pleased," Charles said, adding that the city intended to spend conservatively on the conference hoping to avoid dipping into the $40,000 emergency fund.

The entire conference was funded through private and in-kind donations from local businesses. The community "went the extra mile' to support the conference, Charles said.

However, it wasn't until the week before the opening session of the conference that the city knew it probably had raised enough money to pay for the gathering, she said.

Twenty-eight businesses in Salt Lake City contributed $500 to $25,000 each to the conference while various other businesses made in-kind contributions like offering goods and services at cost to the city.

The mayors conference also had left over liquor. Figures drawn up by Charles show that $3,878 in liquor was returned following the conference.

Some of the conference's larger expenditures include $18,975 for a catered dinner the opening night.